PRESS DIGEST-New Zealand newspapers - Oct 5

WELLINGTON, Oct 5 (Reuters) - Following are some of the lead stories from New Zealand metropolitan newspapers on Friday.

Stories may be taken from either the paper or Internet editions of the papers.

Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.

DOMINION POST()

Wellington families face lean times: Belt-tightening is beginning to cut deep as middle-income families in Wellington run out of ways to trim costs in the face of shrinking pay packets.

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Study: NZ's lethal roads lack light: Driving at night is almost three times more dangerous in New Zealand than in other developed countries because of our poor street lighting, new research says.

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Wellington firms' fraud hits bank: Bank of New Zealand could face losses of more than NZ$500,000 as the bankers of a Wellington accounting firm whose directors are now serving lengthy jail terms for fraud.

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Haier has 'little hope of takeover': Haier could scrape through to become a majority shareholder in Fisher & Paykel Appliances but has little hope of a full takeover at NZ$1.20 a share, analysts believe.

- - - - NEW ZEALAND HERALD ()

MP hits back at demotion rumours in Labour reshuffle: Labour MP Nanaia Mahuta has hit back at speculation she will be demoted in a looming reshuffle by Labour leader David Shearer, indicating she will resist any attempt to take the education portfolio from her.

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Rena inquiry choice astounds MP: The former spy agency boss who approved the illegal surveillance of Kim Dotcom has been appointed to conduct a review into the Rena disaster - a choice that baffles the MP who has pushed for such a inquiry.

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Suspicion over Dotcom net glitch: Kim Dotcom's internet connection was being diverted inside New Zealand weeks before the Government Communications Security Bureau says it started spying on him.

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Haier bid may be forced higher: Global hedge funds are set to play a pivotal role in Haier's takeover battle for Fisher & Paykel Appliances . And one market commentator says the speculative funds are already hindering the Chinese whiteware giant's attempt to fully acquire the New Zealand firm.

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Survey finds little growth in incomes: Statistics New Zealand's annual survey of incomes has detected little growth. The median weekly income from all sources for an individual rose $10 to $560 in the year to June 2012. That is a rise of 1.8 per cent, or 0.8 per cent after inflation.